TURKISH PRESS REVIEW

WEDNESDAY JULY 24, 1996

Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning

The US, British and French ambassadors on Tuesday briefed the
Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee in a bid to address
reservations about a prolonged stay for the Western planes
protecting Iraqi Kurds. The legislature later held a closed-door
meeting called by the Islamist-led government in a bid to elicit
backing for a new mandate extension of the Operation Provide
Comfort (OPC) but the opposition boycotted the session.

After the meeting with Western envoys, Foreign Affairs Committee
Chairman Sedat Aloglu said US Ambassador Marc Grosssman, British
Ambassador Sir Kieran Prendergast and French Ambassador Francois
Dopfer had listened to Turkey's requests regarding OPC and had
replied to queries. Aloglu listed Turkey's five conditions for
the continuation of the five-year-old operation as follows: -The
recognition of the importance Turkey attaches to Iraq's
territorial unity. -The recognition of Turkey's concerns about
the exploitation of the power vacuum in northern Iraq by
(separatist) terrorist forces. -Concerns about the activities of
the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the area. -The
addressing of concerns regarding military operations and rules
governing them. -Redressing of Turkey's economic losses because
of the Gulf War. /Sabah-Cumhuriyet/

President of Belarus, Alexander Lukasenko will pay Turkish
President Suleyman Demirel his first official visit on Wednesday
with the aim of developing mutual relations. During the visit,
the presidents will sign a Friendship and Collaboration
Agreement, which was initiated by the foreign ministers of both
countries on August 8, 1995. Lukasenko will also visit Prime
Minister Necmettin Erbakan and Parliament Speaker Mustafa
Kalemli. Lukasenko will then go to Istanbul and have meetings
with Turkish businessmen. /All papers/

Nevzat Ercan, state minister responsible for religious affairs,
has gone to Egypt to participate in the 8th Islamic Affairs
Superior Council meeting. Ercan will make a speech entitled
"Cooperation with Religion for Solving the Problems of Our Age".
The general theme of this year's meeting is "Islam and the Future
of Cultural Dialogue". Approximately 100 ministers and high
officials from predominantly Islamic countries will attend the
meeting. /All papers/

Ismail Kahraman, Culture Minister, is visiting Japan to attend
the opening of the Kashiwasaki Turkish village. The minister will
also pay a visit to the construction company which built a new
mosque in Tokyo and to various Turkish associations. Kahraman is
expected to return to Turkey on 28 July. /All papers/

The Turkish Red Crescent has sent $23.5 millions worth of food,
medicine and school equipment to northern Iraq in the past three
years. The organization reported that 268,574 families were
helped in 1993, nearly 20,000 more than expected. Last year, the
Turkish Red Crescent gave $10 million in humanitarian aid to
212,176 families. So far this year, the group has sent 8,500 tons
of food aid. /All papers/

An Israeli delegation, including the head of that country's
defence ministry, will visit Turkey to discuss a project to
modernize 54 F4 fighter airplanes, financed by $600 million in
credit from Israel. Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) will carry
out the project. The Israel Knesset has assured IAI that the
project will receive the promised credits. /All papers/

A Turkish Central Bank decree said on Monday that a six percent
charge would be imposed on foreign loans to finance imports. The
bank said in a statement that the decree had re-imposed the
Resource Utilization and Support Fund (KKDF) charge, abolished in
January when Turkey entered its customs union with the 15-nation
European Union and aimed at balancing the cost of import
financing between foreign and domestic loans. The bank said
importers had to pay the KKDF charge on lira-termed (import)
loans but did not have to pay any such tax on foreign currency
loans.

State Minister Ufuk Soylemez said on Monday imports of investment
goods and those for re-export purposes would be exempt from the
import charge. /Milliyet/

A court in Aydin has ordered the shutdown of power stations in
Gokova, Yenikoy and Yatagan because of the pollution they are
producing. Lawyers from the Izmir Environmental Movement have
sued the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry, the Health
Ministry, the Mugla Governorship and the Turkish Electricity
Board, presenting as evidence a 600-page report produced by
environmental experts. The lawyers argued that the power stations
were operating in violation of the laws set up to protect the
environment. The Court in Aydin recently demanded the shutdown of
the power station in Yatagan, but despite the adverse judgement,
the station continued to opetare.

The decisions have been welcomed by the environmentalists. The
lawyers for the environmental group said that the decree was the
fruit of a ten-year struggle and a clear sign that an independent
judicial system still exists in Turkey. /Hurriyet/

The American "Fortune" magazine has determined the 500th biggest
firms in the world. The Turkish Koc Corporation is 376th among
companies and 22nd among the giant automobile firms in the world.
The Koc Corp., which has increased its revenues by 40 % last
year, is also 30th among the companies which showed the highest
yearly increase last year. /Sabah/